Washing-machine



WASHlNG MACHINE APPLICATION FILED AUG-28' 1916-..RENEWED NOV. 28, 1919.

1,342,624, Patented June 8, 1920.

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mnlummmmnumX D. A. DWYER.

WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man AUG.28, 191s. RENEWED NOV. 28, 1919. 1,342,624.

Patented June 8, 1920.

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um um P n is w J TEE ez'euil DAVID A. DWYER, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

-1? WASHING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 8, 1920.

Application filed August 28, 1916, Serial No. 117,238. Renewed November 28, 1919. Serial No. 341,291.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID A. DWYER, a subject of the Kin of Great Britain, a resident of London, 0., England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Washing-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in washing machines of the general type shown 'in the patent to Gibbins, 1,052,911, February 11, 1913, the present invention being an improvement on the structure shown in said patent.

Machines of this kind include an oscillatory carrier for material to be washed, said carrier being mounted in a liquid container for the purpose of elevating and pressing the wet material, or for the purpose of elevating the material and then allowing it to move downwardly along a runway which forms part of the carrier. The wet material is usually carried upwardly at one end of an oscillating runway, and immediately before the runway reaches its extreme positions it is inclined to such an extent that the material will slide down the inclined face and return to the liquid at the lower end of the runway. Owing to the velocity of the oscillatory runway, centrifugal force and the weight of the wet material, the latter is squeezed or compressed as it moves upwardly, and when the material moves downwarclly, by gravity, on the runway it is acted upon by devices which facilitate the washing operation. It is of course desirable to Wash the material rapidly, but if the runway is oscillated rapidly at a uniform rate of speed, the material will be thrown from the runway when the latter reaches its extreme positions, or the runway will not remain at the required inclination for a sufiicient length of time, thus preventing the devices on the runway from performing their functions. If the runway is oscillated slowly at a uniform rate of speed, the material will be properly acted upon by the devices on the runway when the latter is'in or near its extreme positions, but on account of the slow movements of the oscillatory runway, a longer period of time will be required to complete the washing operation.

Therefore, one of the objects of my invention is to produce a machine of this kind having an oscillatory runway, and a simple driving device whereby the runway is driven rapidly while traveling between its extreme positions, said driving device being adapted to decrease the speed of the runway when the latter is in and near its extreme posi tions. The material is thus elevated rapidly and at the same time squeezed slightly by the action resulting from the velocity of the runway, centrifugal force and the weight of the wet material. However, when the runway approaches its extreme positions, the speed is gradually reduced and it then travels so slowly that the wet material will slide down the inclined face of the runway, instead of being thrown from the runway, and owing to the slow speed at this time all of the wet material will be thoroughly acted upon by the devices on the runway, as will be hereinafter fully described.

IVith the foregoing and other objects in view the invention comprises the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more specifically described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein is shown the preferred embodi ment of the invention; however, it is to be understood that the invention comprehends changes, variations and modifications which come within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

Figure I is an end elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. II is a fragmentary rear elevation, illustrating the driving mechanism.

' Fig. III is a detail view, partly in section, showing the rack and pinion, and the oscillatory guide for retaining the rack in engagement with the pinion.

*ig. IV is a vertical axial section of the machine.

Fig. V is a transverse section taken approximately through the center of the machine.

Figs. VI and VII are detail views showing the staggered obstructions on the runway.

To illustrate the invention, I have shown a machine for softening, breaking and washing pulp, but it is to be understood that the invention is not in any way limited to a machine for operating upon such material.

In the structure shown, A designates a liquid container provided with an inlet pipe 1 (F ig. IV) and a discharge channel 2, the

' latory carrier B are all bottom wall of which is inclined for the purpose of conducting liquid or other substances to an outlet pipe 2. The material to be washed is arranged in an oscillatory carrier 13 secured to a shaft 3, the latter being mounted in bearings at and 5, as shown most clearly in Fig. IV.

The oscillatory carrier comprises a container 6 arranged within the liquid container A and provided with small perforations which allow the liquid to circulate freely to and from said container. The oscillatory carrier also includes a runway 7, in the form of an axial partition, arranged within the container 6 and secured to the shaft 3. The runway 7 is also secured to the container 6, as shown in Figs. VI and VII. It will now be understood that the elements of the oscilsecured to the shaft 3, and that the shaft may be oscillated with the result of shifting the runway 7 from one extreme position indicated by the line X in Fig. V, to another extreme position, indicated by the line X.

The oscillatory carrier B is provided with a door 8 adapted to register with a door 9 in the liquid container A (Fig. V) and both of these doors may be opened for the purpose of introducing material into the carrier B. The door 8 is so arranged that the material to be washed may be introduced at opposite sides of the runway 7 which divides the carrier B into two compartments.

10 designates staggered obstructions secured to opposite sides of the runway 7 (Figs. V, VI and VII) and adapted to be engaged by the material to be washed when the runway occupies its extreme positions, as will be presently described In washing filtering material such as pulp or the like, sults can be obtained by soaking and breaking the material during the washing operation so that all of the small fibers will be subjected to the cleansing action of the water. The machine I have shown will accomplish all of these results. Large pieces of hardened pulp may be introduced into the carrier B at opposite sides of the runway 7, and the carrier may then be oscillated in an are greater than one-half of a circle, as indicated by arrows in Fig. V with the result of breaking the material, separating its fibers from each other and theroughly washing the small fibers. hen the runway 7 moves from the position indicated by the line X in Fig. V to the position inclicated by the line X, the material is carried upwardly from the water in the lower portion of the machine and finally permitted to slide down the runway by gravity. During its. downward movement, the wet mate rial. strikes the staggered obstructions 10 which constitute means for breakingthe material. After the material has been satthe most satisfactory re urated with the water its fibers will readily separate from each other when they slide down the runway. The material is carried upwardly in the corners formed at the junctions of the runway 7, and the cylindrical outer wall of the perforated container (3, and when. the runway approaches either of its extreme positions the upwardly moving material will lie at the upper end of the incline formed by the runway, hence the saturated material will travel downwardly from the top to the bottom of the runway.

It will be observed that a most efficient action can be obtained by squeezing or compressing the material slightly and then allowing it to travel slowly downthe runway. The squeezing or compressing action is obtained by moving the carrier rapidly, such action being due to the velocity of the carrier, the weight of the material, and centrifugal force. If the carrier is permitted to move rapidly when the runway 7 appreaches its extreme positions,'the material will be thrown from the runway, instead of being allowed to slide down the inclined face thereof. The driving device is, therefore, so constructed that the speed of the oscillatory carrier will gradually decrease when the runway approaches its extreme positions, thus allowing the material to slide down the runway and engage the obstructions 10.

The driving device comprises a pinion 12 fixed to the shaft 3, a rack bar 13 fitted to said pinion, a crank wheel 1.4: having a, crank pin 15 to which the rack bar is pivotally secured, a pinion 16 meshing with teeth on the crank wheel 141, a gear wheel 17 fixed to pinion 16, a driving pinion 18 meshing with gear wheel 17, and a power shaft 19 fixed to said pinion 18. The power shaft may be driven continuously at a uniform rate of speed to impart a continuous rotary movement to the crank wheel 14, thus moving the crank pin 15 in a circular path so as to reciprocate and oscillate the rack bar 13. Obviously, the pinion 12 and carrier B will oscillate in response to a movement of this kind, and the degree of oscillation may be varied by adjusting the crank pin 15 (Fig. I) in the slot15.

hen the crank pin travels through one of the arcs F (Fig. I} the longitudinal movement of the rack bar will coincide approximately with. the length of said arc, but when the crank pin travels through one of the arcs G, the longitudinal movement of the rack bar 13 is considerably less than the length of the arc. The oscillatory carrier will, therefore, move rapidly when the crank pin travels through an arc F and at a comparatively slow rate of speed; when the crank pin travels through an arc G. As a consequence, the carrier will pick up the material and moveirapidly, until it approaches one of its extreme positions, and it will then move at a comparatively slow rate of speed to accomplish the .results previously pointed out.

An oscillatory rack guide 20, pivotally supported by the shaft 3, is provided with a pair of anti-friction rollers 21 adapted to engage the plain straight face of the rack. The teeth of the rack and pinion correspond to a series of small wedges, tending to force the rack into engagement with the antifriction rollers when the driving mechanism is in service.

It will be noted that the rack bar and its guide 20 oscillate in response to the rotary movements of the crank wheel 14, and that these parts are associated with each other and combined with the pinion 12 in such a manner that they cannot oscillate without imparting a corresponding movement to the pinion. This being true, the rack bar and its guide 20 constitute a long sliding and rocking arm whereby movement is trans mitted to the pinion, more particularly when the crank pin is traveling through the arcs G. This is an advantage in machines requiring a comparatively high degree of power when the oscillatory carrier approaches its extreme positions, for example, the driving device shown in the patent to Gibbins to which I have previously referred, must furnish sufficient power to compress the material at the end of each oscillation.

The perforations in the oscillatory carrier B are so small that the fibrous material will not pass through them, said material being confined in the carrier until the washing operation has been completed. In removing the washed material, the door 8 is shifted to its open position, and the carrier is then turned to discharge the material into the channel 2, thus allowing said material to pass-out through the discharge pipe 2.

The obstructions 10 on the runway are preferably metal loops separated from each other to permit the material to pass through and between them, each of said loops being in the form of a bar having edges adapted to be engaged by the material.

I claim 1. In a washing machine, a liquid container, a rotatable carrier for the material to be washed, said carrier comprising a runway by which the material to be washed may be elevated and upon which the material may descend by gravity, and an obstruction comprising a row of loops extending from a side of said runway, said loops having their edges opposed to the line of travel of the material on said runway.

2. In a washing machine, a liquid con- -tainer, an oscillatory carrier for the material to be washed, said oscillatory carrier comprising a runway arranged in said liquid container for carrying the material upwardly from the liquid and allowing the elevated material to move downwardly, by gravity, along the runway, and means on said runway for breaking the downwardly moving material, said means including rows of loops extending from said runway and provided with edges adapted to be engaged by the material.

DAVID A. DWYER. 

